Ferritin expression in the periodontal tissues of primates

Abstract

Ferritin, an iron-binding protein, is composed of two subunits, a heavy chain and a light chain. It regulates many biological functions, such as proliferation, angiogenesis, and immunosuppression. The objective of this study was to determine the expression and distribution of ferritin in the periodontal tissuesof primates.First, we assessed the expression of ferritin in primary cultured cells isolated from human periodontal tissues using the polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescent staining. Second, we investigated the expression and distribution of ferritin in the periodontal tissues of Macaca fascicularis, human gingival tissues, and human gingival carcinoma tissues using immunohistochemistry.Both protein and mRNA of ferritin were constitutively present in human primary cultured cells, including those from the dental apical papilla, periodontal ligament, dental pulp, and gingival epithelium, as well as gingival fibroblasts. In M. fascicularistissues, the immunohistochemical staining was particularly strong in blood vessel and mineralizing areas of the dental pulp and periodontal ligament. Ferritin heavy chain exhibited specific immunopositivity in in the stratum basale of the epithelium in human gingival tissue and strong immunostaining was found in peripheral regions of gingival carcinoma sites. Ferritin is constitutivelypresent andwidelydistributed in the periodontal tissues of primates. Ferritin may play roles in epithelial proliferation, vascular angiogenesis, and mineralization in these tissues.

Long non‐coding RNA SNHG5 mediates periodontal inflammation through the NF‐κB signalling pathway

“…This study utilized hPDLCs to explore the role of SNHG5 in periodontitis in vitro. hPDLCs is reportedly involved in inflammatory responses and bone resorption, which are two major features of periodontitis (Saito, Rosol, et al, 1990; Saito, Saito, et al, 1990; Hosokawa et al, 2019; W. Huang et al, 2019). hPDLCs were obtained and characterized according to previously published protocols (Han et al, 2020).…”

“…hPDLCs is reportedly involved in inflammatory responses and bone resorption, which are two major features of periodontitis (Saito, Rosol, et al, 1990;Hosokawa et al, 2019;W. Huang et al, 2019).…”

Key players in the regulation of iron homeostasis at the host-pathogen interface

“…Ferritin plays an important role in host nutritional immunity, inflammation, and hypoxia ( 63 ). In humans and other mammals’ oral cavity, ferritin expression is very high because the oral cavity is exposed to different bacterial species that depend on iron for proliferation, and hence the increased expression of ferritin to sequester iron from bacteria ( 71 , 72 ). Depending on the context, Ferritin can act as a pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory molecule.…”